Sustained Assistance Is Vital!

Pig farming in the country, like others, has suffered under the weight of the devastating Coronavirus pandemic and stakeholders are today at crossroads. In fact, getting better markets for the animals has been an uphill task owing to the barrier measures prescribed by national and global health authorities to contain the spread of the virus, one of which is limiting public gatherings. Bearing in mind that most of such get-togethers in the likes of marriage and death celebrations almost always had pigs as some of the much-needed items, their absences or restrictions today leave a terrible blow in pig farming and by extension on their breeders.

Statistics on the contribution of pig farming to the national economy may not be readily available but from observation, many a household make a living from the business. Stepping in to assist the actors stand the challenge is therefore imperative and needs promptitude too.

Containing Pests Is Primordial

One of the problems that hampers sustainable pig farming in the country, like elsewhere, is the prevalence of pests that often ravage the animals and frustrate their owners.  Analysts hold that the control of flies, cockroaches and other insects is important because they can transmit disease among pig populations. Effective control, they hold, is an integral part of maintaining high health and productivity in modern pig production. Having a control system in operation also forms part of assurance standards which the country’s pig farmers need.

No one is oblivious to the fact that at a time when the pig farming sector is almost brought to its knees by the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic, Cameroon’s pig farmers absolutely need support to contain the animal pests so as to keep the business afloat. Many have been forced to give the animals at almost no price owing to fear that pests might attack and render the already bad situation worse. Whereas if there was a sure way of containing the pests, the animals could be kept and fed even to what weight and size for things to normalize. And this would have even been better given that the price of the animal normally depends on its size and weight.

Government through the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries has been working with pig farmers to assist them in one way or the other. But innovation shouldn’t be minimized. The government might consider fine-tuning existing or crafting new programmes aimed at reducing infection levels or post-eradication re-infection. This could include, for instance, appropriate biosecurity and pig medication/vaccination, as well as insect control measures, targeted at cockroaches and flies.